What is a RADIO ?

Some months ago, we Nagpurian's got a taste of what kind of entertainment one can get when the guys at M.S.E.D.C.L. (the people managing the electricity supply in Maharashtra) go crazy and do the load shedding thing leaving you hapless without your idiot box or computers to rely on (of course, people with inverters got away for a while!). The new source of such uninterrupted entertainment was the simple radio which though was existing from a long time but was not quite making waves (at least not among the non-fisherman, people loving old songs and highly curious elders...). The thing is, the state sponsored government channel were simply way too much boring for majority of the masses and were neglected a lot. But after the entry of private entities like Mirchi, My FM, Radiocity etc (in no particular order, of course) the scene in Nagpur has changed dramatically with a major shift towards the erstwhile instrument of information. Most of my friends are now listening to lots of songs and those with radio enabled mobiles go on with a murky smirk on their faces !! Though many of us know how the thing works, except for those people who have done a minor/major course in electronics most of us don't know the intricate details of technology involved in the same. Thats why this effort. Explained in as simple terms as one can. Read on. So that you wont be dumbfounded if your grandchildren were to ask you this very question after some years when you are an oldie. Hehe...

What is it and how does it work?

Radio is the wireless transmission of signals, by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travel by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space. It does not require a medium of transport. Information is carried by systematically changing some property of the radiated waves, such as their amplitude or their frequency. When radio waves pass an electrical conductor, the oscillating fields induce an alternating current in the conductor. This can be detected and transformed into sound or other signals that carry information.

Although Nikola Tesla first demonstrated the feasibility of wireless communications in 1893, Guglielmo Marconi, an Italian inventor, was the first to develop workable radio communication. He sent and received his first radio signal in Italy in 1895.

The word 'radio' is used to describe this phenomenon, and radio transmissions are classed as radio frequency emissions.

What is the difference between AM radio and FM radio?

AM stands for “amplitude modulation” – a type of signal. With AM, the amplitude of the combined audio frequency and radio frequency waves varies to match the audio signal. AM radio can develop problems with interference. This makes it hard to hear the radio show. Interference can be caused by many sources. For example, sparks discharge when a car is started, in electric motors in all sorts of electrical appliances, and even lightning. All of these things can produce interference to AM radio. As you can see, there is a lot of background noise that changes the amplitude of the radio wave signal. This creates the random crackling noises call static.

FM stands for “frequency modulation”- a type of radio transmission, the frequency of the combined waves change to reproduce the audio signal. For example, higher frequency is associated with the peak amplitude in the audio wave. FM waves do not have a problem with interference because the noise background does not modify the radio wave frequency. In addition FM waves give better sound reproduction.

Please do post any other insights that will be be valuable to the understanding of this so-commonly-used-yet-so-much-neglected-technology by clicking here.

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Joker in the Pack - life at an IIM...

Fellow Human beings (not that I have ceased to be one, but the kind of routine that I am following these days, certainly doesn't fall into normal human life...) this is to formally announce that I have finally conquered the unbelievable 7th semester with another 7 pointer in the kitty... Jokes apart, the last 20 days after my exam can be compared with that of a very busy executive working under the most monster of a boss, albeit the domain of work might be varying. More on that in some later blog post.

This is another of my boring book review blog post (The first one was about the last Harry Potter book, those who were fortunate to miss it, please click here after you are done with this). The book is titled above - "A Joker in the Pack" - an irreverant view of life at IIM's - so say the two authors, Neeraj Pahlajani (IIM Bangalore 2004-06) and Ritesh Sharma (IIM Lucknow 2003-2005).

Author(s) Speaks

"This is a story of dreaming the great Indian middle class dream, and of life shaped — accidentally or by design, only God knows — by the great Indian middle class values. The joyride begins in the lap of two favourite pastimes of the nation — cricket and television — and after some shattered dreams, leads to the hallowed precincts of the venerated IIMs. It is a story of the life at the IIMs, and of life beyond. It is a story of how to play the IIM game successfully and beat the super distillation system refined by the IIMs to separate the chaff from the grain, the also-rans from the super achievers. The story has bit of raw truth. It is also tongue-in-cheek. It is designed to whet the appetite of those aspiring. It will evoke nostalgia amongst the alumni; it will also anger a few. Read on... you will either love it, or hate it, but will find it difficult to put down."

Wikipedia Speaks

Joker in the Pack describes humorously (and often satirically) the life of Shekhar Verma - a middle class student who grows up in the post liberalization era. The book starts off by describing Shekhar's childhood in a typical urban middle class setting, playing gully cricket and "ice-pice" (I Spy). As Shekhar reaches senior school, he is influenced by his middle class brethren into pursuing a "dream job" with an MNC (defined as any job that pays very well as per prevailing standards). In order to achieve this job, he enrolls into an Information Technology course as it is considered "hot" by recruiters. He gets disenchanted with the course once IT bubble bursts in India and salaries plummet. Shekhar then trains his eyes on the IIMs, in the hope that an MBA from an IIM will help him get his dream job. The book describes in detail Shekhar's life at an IIM and introduces the various personalities that make up life there including 'Northie Lafanders' and 'Dosa Dudes', the influential Placement Committee ('Placecom'), wise 'Daddus' and the glamorous 'Page 3s'. Throughout the book, Shekhar has been shown as being critical of the middle class that "labels kids according to the marks they get in exams and salaries they get in jobs". As a character, Shekhar is shown to mature as the book progresses, culminating in his starting to question his own beliefs and actions and the sarifices he has made to achieve something he is no longer sure he wants."

Suyash Joshi (whose opinion matters, because this blog belongs to him) speaks

Well, Initially I had found it similar to another of those "five point someone" rip offs, but it was, surprisingly, something new. I read it during the last two weeks of my CAT preparation and I found it really encouraging if someone wants some boost up to crack the monster exam (as if anyone does require, but just in case). What I now realize is, that the typical middle class common man is on a resurgent rise in every aspect, intellectually or economically or by other infinite standards. Everyone desires to graduate/ post graduate from a premier institute and make a mark of his own. I will say, this book will let you feel your dreams too, and hence its a must read. As the last line of the riveting prologue said, "Shekhar Verma had finally arrived", I was hooked on to this great piece of work. Grab it up and get ready for another page turner !

Do post your comments about this book here.

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